Blog for HR Zone from Toby Conibear, Business Development Director, Bond International Software:

Recruitment companies use CRM systems as an integral part of their business process. Used effectively, a CRM can increase efficiency and improve the way in which they interact with both candidates and customers. Yet agencies are not currently exploiting this technology to its true potential. CRM systems can and should offer much more than simply managing candidate and client relationships: there is huge potential to proactively drive sales activity.

In a challenging and competitive market, it is vital that recruiters value the importance of leads and the associated revenue potential. Recruitment businesses should be gathering and tracking leads and commercially valuable information in order to be successful. Currently, many recruitment companies use manual spreadsheets to track leads, if they are tracked at all! A good CRM system, however, will provide functionality with which to not just input but also track and manage leads, linking the lead and commercial information to all the other valuable CRM information.

By default, when any recruiter places a candidate in a role, it will almost certainly leave that candidate’s previous job open. It’s not rocket science but by making a call to the business owner who’s just lost an employee, a recruiter shows initiative and maximises the chance of filling the role left behind. In addition, candidates often mention an interview they have at another company, flagging another potential vacancy that could be filled. But although a recruiter may create a lead or be informed of an opening, it is not necessarily their responsibility to follow it up.

This is where a lead management system comes in: by logging this information in a CRM, the system will automatically alert the relevant person whose job it is to develop that business. And in order to encourage employees to share this intelligence and create a culture of lead generation, it is essential to provide an easy mechanism with which to do so.

This insight also gives business development a sensible steer by delivering the right commercial information in an effective way, meaning recruiters can target the most productive people to call. The key is to ensure that the right person knows who to contact and by monitoring leads in this way, recruitment companies ensure that they are steering their business development in a commercial direction.

This intelligent technology can also be set to monitor clients’ websites and alert the recruiter if a vacancy is advertised. As every recruiter knows, time is of the essence and this technology gives that crucial edge over other agencies still reliant on the client updating new vacancy information.

By fully utilising the functionality that advanced CRM systems offer, a recruiter’s life is made much easier. Not only does it take the pain out of lead management but CRM systems proactively present opportunities that may otherwise be missed, generating more revenue. This information is already being captured within the business – so why not use it to steal a march on the competition?